Jonathan Majors delivers on all of the hype surrounding his role in this movie, I would go as far as saying he gave the best performance in this movie. I hated his character, every scene I felt his hate, deception and manipulation grow stronger. A proper Rocky villain, and definitely the best of the Creed trilogy!
MBJ's Directorial debut, and he did not play it safe! The combat scenes were directed so well, and definitely inspired by anime, of which he is openly a fan. The sparing scene where Dame strikes Felix in the chest, the elbow across the cheek, and the shots the arm and bicep in their actual fight all made me wince! 🤣
As a hip hop fan, who grew up on West Coast hip-hop, the opening scene of Don & Dame driving around early 00s LA to the sound of The Watcher by Dr Dre did not disappointment. Dreamvile handling the soundtrack was amazing, standout song for me was Adonis interlude, J Cole really capturing the feel of the movie. My favourite ring walks in the history of the Rocky saga came from Crenshaw born Dame, walking out to the late great Nipsey Hustle's 'Grinding All My Life' & 'Last Time That I Checc'd' goosebumps!
So why 7/10, not 8? Well...
The sub plot of Adonis battling against himself, his emotions and childhood trauma was a touch underwhelming. Don't get me wrong, the scene with his mother after she tells him she hid Dames letters, the scene where he snaps at his wife infront of their daughter, and the scene where he finally opens up to his wife, were all solid. However, it felt like something was missing. That being said, the post fight scene where Adonis & Dame accept their childhood trauma and vouch to move forwards and become better versions of themselves was a great heartwarming watch!
The final fight was just too short tho, wasn't it? I think MBJ really jumped the gun with the final fight scene, which would have been the icing on the cake. We jump from the 3rd round to the 11th round with a metaphorical round of both fighters being in the ring, inside a cage, all spectators are gone, it's just Dame and Adonis, battling each other and themselves. I think seeing a more verbal confrontation between the 2 whilst trading blows would have cemented the ending.
All in all a great movie! Very promising debut for MBJ Directorial career and a great show from Jonothan Walters in the 1st movie I've seen him in, as well as a solid soundtrack which feels deeply implemented in the story of the characters.
MBJ's Directorial debut, and he did not play it safe! The combat scenes were directed so well, and definitely inspired by anime, of which he is openly a fan. The sparing scene where Dame strikes Felix in the chest, the elbow across the cheek, and the shots the arm and bicep in their actual fight all made me wince! 🤣
As a hip hop fan, who grew up on West Coast hip-hop, the opening scene of Don & Dame driving around early 00s LA to the sound of The Watcher by Dr Dre did not disappointment. Dreamvile handling the soundtrack was amazing, standout song for me was Adonis interlude, J Cole really capturing the feel of the movie. My favourite ring walks in the history of the Rocky saga came from Crenshaw born Dame, walking out to the late great Nipsey Hustle's 'Grinding All My Life' & 'Last Time That I Checc'd' goosebumps!
So why 7/10, not 8? Well...
The sub plot of Adonis battling against himself, his emotions and childhood trauma was a touch underwhelming. Don't get me wrong, the scene with his mother after she tells him she hid Dames letters, the scene where he snaps at his wife infront of their daughter, and the scene where he finally opens up to his wife, were all solid. However, it felt like something was missing. That being said, the post fight scene where Adonis & Dame accept their childhood trauma and vouch to move forwards and become better versions of themselves was a great heartwarming watch!
The final fight was just too short tho, wasn't it? I think MBJ really jumped the gun with the final fight scene, which would have been the icing on the cake. We jump from the 3rd round to the 11th round with a metaphorical round of both fighters being in the ring, inside a cage, all spectators are gone, it's just Dame and Adonis, battling each other and themselves. I think seeing a more verbal confrontation between the 2 whilst trading blows would have cemented the ending.
All in all a great movie! Very promising debut for MBJ Directorial career and a great show from Jonothan Walters in the 1st movie I've seen him in, as well as a solid soundtrack which feels deeply implemented in the story of the characters.
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